Contrary to popular belief, not all workplace injuries are physical. Harassment, discrimination, and even retaliation are also workplace injuries that could lead to workers’ compensation claims. However, because they are non-physical injuries that don’t show up on an X-ray, these issues are often more difficult to prove, making them tricky to handle.
That doesn’t make them any less serious, though, and the recent situation at Uber proves this.
Uber Faces Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Claims
Uber, one of the companies at the forefront of the ridesharing industry, is facing claims that it sexually harassed and discriminated against its female employees.
The claims came to the public eye after one of Uber’s former engineers, Susan Fowler, wrote about her experience in her blog. There, she covered her year working for Uber. Fowler tells about how, on her very first day out of training, a manager propositioned her for sex on a company chat service. When Fowler took the issue to the human resources department, she was shrugged off – she could either change departments or stay on the same one and accept a negative performance review which, because she was “given an option” to move, would not be considered retaliatory.
After that, according to Fowler, things never changed. She recounted time after time that the women working for Uber were treated differently from the men there. When she reported it to the human resources department, though, she was blamed for being “the common theme” in her reports. The HR department even claimed that there was no evidence of discrimination, even though Fowler had forwarded discriminatory emails in her reports.
Uber’s Toxic Work Environment
The laundry list of discriminatory practices described in Fowler’s blog was not limited to her, either. Other women working at Uber had similar problems. When Fowler first went to the HR department about the manager who propositioned her, she was told that it was his “first offense.” However, as Fowler met more of her coworkers, she learned that this manager had a long history of harassment.
Discrimination, Harassment, and Workers’ Compensation
These kinds of work environments make it very clear that non-physical injuries like harassment and discrimination have the same kinds of negative effects that physical injuries do. In some instances, these situations can even turn into workers’ compensation cases.
St. Joseph Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at the Smith Law Office
Being the victim of a workplace injury – whether it’s a physical one or a non-physical one – can leave you feeling hopeless. Having to put up with a difficult work situation in order to continue making an income is not an easy thing to do.
Having a workers’ compensation attorney on hand can be the best way to make sure your rights and interests are protected. The personal injury lawyers at the Smith Law Office in St. Joseph, Missouri understand how tricky these situations can be, and know how to work with all of the tact and strength needed to make things turn out right.
Contact our law office online or at (816) 875-9373.